Downton Abbey: Season 6 predictions for the ladies of the Grantham household

Shanee Edwards is a screenwriter who earned her master's degree at UCLA Film School. She recently won the Next MacGyver television writing competition to create a TV show about a female engineer. Her TV pilot, Ada and the Machine, is cur...

Will the final season of Downton be the bee's knees for your favorite female characters?

The last season of Downton Abbey is upon us (chin up), but we are very excited to see how the Grantham household wraps up in the upcoming nine episodes. Here are a few predictions.

1. Cora Crawley, Countess of Grantham

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With Cora's (Elizabeth McGovern), marriage to Robert (Hugh Bonneville) now on better terms — at least they're again sleeping in the same four poster bed — we predict Cora will search for some independence. It's possible she'll do some charity work for local poor or ailing people, considering the emerging British healthcare system will provide one of the main storylines this season.

McGovern told TV Guide, "Cora is becoming more slightly a modern woman and defining herself as separate from family and Robert in a slight way. She's always the one to ease old feet-in-the-clay-Robert into the modern world. So she still does a bit of that. In very touching ways, he does allow this to happen."

2. Lady Edith Crawley

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Finally reunited with her biological daughter, Marigold, Edith (Laura Carmichael), now owns Gregson's (Charles Edwards) newspaper and is doing her best to run the business. Carmichael told TV Guide, "We'll see how the men of the 1920s take to being told what to do by a woman. She remains a kind of contributor, and there is an editor, Mr. Skinner, who we meet in the first episode. He's a nightmare, so yes, it's a question of can she work under him?" Despite their tension, we first thought Mr. Skinner (Paul Putner), could be a possible love interest for Edith, but according to the IMDb, he only appears in two episodes, so we’re predicting that the love of Edith's life won't be a man, but rather her daughter.

3. Anna Bates

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We expect the murder of Anna's (Joanne Froggatt) rapist, Mr. Green, will come to a dramatic conclusion, but according to Froggatt, there's even more drama heading her way. "There is happiness for Anna and Bates, but it's not easily attained. They just have more problems thrown their way this year, a whole new set of problems that we didn't even know about. Yes, so there's a new challenge for Anna and Bates," Froggatt told TV Guide.

We predict the season ends with Anna and John Bates (Brendan Coyle), expecting a baby and bringing some long-deserved happiness to the couple.

4. Lady Mary Crowley

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The most independent and progressive of the Crowleys is Mary (Michelle Dockery). Last season, we saw her managing birth control like a modern gal, but we predict Henry Talbot (Matthew Goode) will steer her heart like one of the fast cars he loves so much. We can only hope there will be a wedding.

5. The Dowager Countess

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Violet (Maggie Smith), gets involved in the institution that would eventually become Britain's National Healthcare system in the 1940s. This reflects the changes that are happening in society, as the middle class emerges and the working poor are becoming more valued by society. We predict Violet will demand changes to the health system that will set the stage for medical advances that will help win World War 2.

6. Daisy Mason

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Daisy (Sophie McShera) will continue to educate herself and reach for a better life. She told TV Guide, "I think the main theme that stands out for me... is the sort of social mobility of the working classes." We predict she'll be running her own business by the end of the season, perhaps alongside Downton's newest under butler, Andy (Michael Fox).